Reunions
by wannabelabrat
Summary: Chapter Seven up! Two people in Nick's life have decided to pay our favorite CSI a visit.
1. Default Chapter

A/N: I'm finally back, (For a while anyway!) Hope you enjoy! Please review!  
  
* * *  
  
"Where are you going?" Sara asked, "Shift starts in five minutes."  
  
"My sister's plane got in at a different time. I thought she meant she was leaving Texas at 8:10, turns out that is when her plane gets here," Nick explained.  
  
"Good going, Genius!" Sara said, only slightly teasingly.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said, "At work?"  
  
"I'm not coming over tonight?"  
  
"I think it would be better if you didn't. Celeste and I haven't seen each other in a while, and I think she's bringing her boy friend. I'm going to lay down some ground rules for her, and I don't think it's going to be a good idea for me to break all 23 of them," He winked, " She loves pointing out how hypocritical people are."  
  
"Oh, well, then I'll see you tomorrow," Sara smiled before heading towards the break room. She passed Warrick on her way out. Nick slammed his locker shut and turned around, bumping into Grissom.  
  
"We need to talk," he said.  
  
"Okay, talk."  
  
"Well, it's bad news. Apparently, Nigel Crane escaped. Yesterday."  
  
"Oh, okay. Well, if that's all I have to go," Nick mumbled. He gave Warrick a slight wave before leaving. Grissom turned to Warrick.  
  
"Did he hear me?" Grissom asked, "Or did I mumble?"  
  
"No mumbling. He's just preoccupied."  
  
"Well, nothing like an insane stalker to overshadow a little preoccupation."  
  
"His kid sister is coming for a visit, and he's kinda worried about her," Warrick explained.  
  
"Well, I'm kinda worried about him," Grissom said, "We're already short handed, I can't afford to let Crane get to him."  
  
"Nice to see you're really worried about Nick," Warrick said, "I'll call him later."  
  
"Alright, good enough. He's obviously not worried." Grissom handed Warrick a piece of paper, "By the way, here's your assignment."  
  
"The bombing of an old warehouse?" Warrick asked.  
  
Grissom paused by the door, "Have a blast." 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!!! They were very encouraging!!! (Well, almost all of them!) Anyway, I hope you like the next chapter! Oh, and can anyone fill me in on the CSI Miami rumors?? About Calleigh??? Thanks!  
  
* * *  
  
"Celeste! What are you doing?" Nick asked, exasperated. He ran into Greg's lab after hearing a loud crash. Celeste and Greg exchanged sheepish grins.  
  
"Nothin'," was the innocent reply.  
  
"Whenever you say 'nothing', I know you are up to something!" Nick exclaimed, "I have known you for 17 years, after all," he pointed out before looking at Greg sternly. "And I haven't known you for 17 years, but I have known you long enough!"  
  
"I didn't do anything!" Greg said defensively.  
  
"Liar!" Celeste giggled.  
  
"Shh!" Greg hissed. He and Celeste shared another conspiratorial glance.  
  
"I knew you would get in trouble if I brought you here," Nick muttered.  
  
"Then why did you bring me here?" Celeste asked.  
  
"Because I knew you'd get in trouble at home, too!" Nick said, "Come on."  
  
"Bye Greg! That was fun! Sorry about the mess!"  
  
"Don't worry about it, it'll clean up," Greg said, picking up a few dropped books.  
  
"Celeste, You're going to have to behave. You've gotten kicked out of the morgue for making enough noise to wake the dead, you've gotten in trouble for nosing around in Sara's office, and misplacing a very important file, and you let Grissom's tarantula loose somewhere. Now you're destroying Greg's lab." Nick sighed, "And you haven't even been here for two hours yet."  
  
"Sorry,"  
  
"Yeah, right. And pigs can fly," Nick muttered. "At least tell me one thing, was it legal?" he teased, remembering more than one time that he had needed to save her from being arrested.  
  
"Yes. But only in Nevada."  
  
Nick sighed as he led his sister into the break room, and sat her down at a table, before tossing a chocolate bar in front of her. "Eat." he said. "On second thought," he grabbed the candy and tossed a banana in front of her. "I don't want you on a sugar high all night!" He watched as Sara wandered in, distracted, and sat on the other side of the table.  
  
"Oh, come on, like your curiosity hasn't ever led you to make one bad choice or another?" Celeste asked.  
  
"Never," Nick promised. He grinned when he realized Sara was listening in.  
  
"Oh, what about the time when mom caught you and Samantha sneaking in to the-" Nick blushed and clamped his hand over her mouth.  
  
"Samuel. Samuel and I snuck out of cub scouts one day to, um, buy flowers for mother's day." Nick improvised lamely.  
  
"Oh, Nick, let the girl talk," Sara ordered. Nick reluctantly let go of his sister. She walked over to Sara and whispered something in her ear. Sara's eyes widened, and she looked at Nick.  
  
"Celeste, go to the locker room and get my stuff. Locker 25. 34-25-32." Celeste promptly left.  
  
"Nick, those are my measurements," Sara said.  
  
"I know." Nick leaned over and kissed her.  
  
"You know, we'll have to try that sometime," Sara said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"What she said."  
  
"I don't think so," he shook his head. "I need to take her home, and give her something to put her to sleep, then I will meet you for dessert. Until then, I'll think about it."  
  
"But I haven't eaten dinner yet," Sara teased.  
  
"Maybe I can think of something," Nick whispered.  
  
"Deal," Sara agreed. She kissed Nick goodbye, then watched him as he left.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Sorry about the randomness of this chapter, I promise they'll become more relevant! This was just to appease the N/S fans, and because I'm very random like that! Please R&R! The next chapter gets a lot better! 


	3. Ch 3

A/N: I'm going to try to update this regularly, but considering I've been doing homework until 2 in the morning EVERY NIGHT, I don't know how realistic that'll be! Although more reviews = more chapters! Hint, Hint!!!!  
  
* * *  
  
"How do you like it here so far?" Nick asked. His sister had been in Vegas for almost a week.  
  
"It's okay. Mom shipped me up here as soon as she could, but she had some bad timing. I had a friend who was auditioning for Julliard yesterday. He's an actor." she explained.  
  
"Why did she do it?" Nick asked. His sister was mischievous, and he didn't doubt that one of her childish pranks backfired, getting her in trouble.  
  
"She didn't tell you?"  
  
"No, I wanted to hear it from you."  
  
"It's a lot of stuff," she sighed. "Most of it's because I ruined the wedding."  
  
"What wedding?" Nick asked.  
  
"Mom and Jeff."  
  
"Oh, that wedding. You stopped it?"  
  
"No, but I really tried," she grinned.  
  
"Good going, Munchkin!" Nick laughed.  
  
"You're not supposed to say that," Celeste pointed out.  
  
"I know, but I agree with you. But, if mom asks, I really let you have it for that, okay?" Nick asked. Celeste grinned. She and Nick had always been close, and she couldn't ever recall a time when he'd yelled at her.  
  
"I just- I don't like him," she admitted finally.  
  
"Why?" Nick asked, suddenly alarmed.  
  
"I don't know. He's phony."  
  
"Is that the only reason?" Nick asked.  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Why?"  
  
"Why do you think?" he gave his sister a look.  
  
"No! It's nothing like that."  
  
"Good, Let's go take my crap inside, and then we'll go out and grab something to eat." Nick said.  
  
"I'm not hungry," Celeste repeated, but she followed him into his house. He opened the door and gasped.  
  
"Hmm. Does something look different to you?" she asked. Nick looked around his house and sighed. Everything was a mess. Lamps were knocked over, magazines from the coffee table were strewn about.  
  
"Damn!" he went into the kitchen and noticed the broken window.  
  
"What?" she followed him, skirting the mess all over the floor.  
  
"Go get in the car, I'll be there in a minute. Don't touch anything on the way out!" Nick made a quick call to Sara, and she promised she would process the house while they were gone. As Nick was leaving, he saw a picture frame still sitting on the shelf. Since it was the only thing in it's original spot, he wandered over there and cursed again when he noticed the missing picture. It had been a picture of him and Celeste, at his college graduation. Instead of the picture was a note, which read, 'I'm watching you.'  
  
"What kind of freak would do this?" Nick asked himself as he walked out to the car. He opened the door before he noticed his sister wasn't in the car.  
  
"Celeste?" He yelled. "Celeste? Where are you?" He glanced around and didn't see any sign of a struggle, although he knew from experience that didn't mean one didn't occur. "Damn!" Nick slammed the car door shut and hurried back into his house.  
  
* * *  
  
Hope you like! Sorry it's so short, but. . . C'est la vie! 


	4. ch 4

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they're making me work harder to finish this up! I just finished taking finals today, so this is a welcome break from all the studying. In response to a review: I don't know if this is really considered AU or not, but then again, it is fiction, so. . . I like making stuff up as I go along :o) (Sorry if that sounds like I'm mad, I'm not!) Let me know what you think about this chapter.  
  
* * * Celeste opened her eyes slowly and yawned.  
  
"So Sleeping Beauty finally wakes up."  
  
"Wh-who are you?" Celeste asked, staring up into the face of Nigel Crane.  
  
"What? You can see me? You mean I'm not as invisible as your brother thinks?" he asked rhetorically.  
  
"What?" Celeste asked, bewildered.  
  
"Never mind. Long story, which you will hear about later," Nigel said.  
  
"Where am I?" She asked, "What do you want?"  
  
"What does anyone want? I-I-I mean, really. What does any-anyone want?"  
  
"I don't know. I know I want to go home," Celeste answered with a child's innocence.  
  
"Of course. Home. A basic necessity. Just like food, or clothing." Nigel said. Celeste continued to look confused.  
  
"Who are you?" Celeste finally asked again.  
  
"Well, I'm a friend of Nick's," Nigel said finally.  
  
"A friend?" Celeste scoffed. "Where is my brother?"  
  
"I don't know. But he'll be here soon. I know I left enough clues for your sleuthing brother to find. He'll be here within a couple of hours." Celeste looked around the nearly empty room. Surprisingly, she wasn't restrained in any way, but she knew if she angered Nigel, she wouldn't stay that way. Her eyes settled on a 9-millimeter Smith and Wesson sitting on the table, the only piece of furniture in the room. Nigel followed her gaze. "That's a present for your brother."  
  
"Kind of an odd gift," Celeste said.  
  
"Well, yes. You know, I've been wondering. You see, Nick, well, he-he-he wouldn't die for me. So I was w-w-wondering, if he would die for you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You know, If I a-a-asked him. Your life or his, what would he say?" Nigel turned to her, as if he expected an answer.  
  
"I dunno."  
  
"You don't know?"  
  
"No, I try not to think of morbid thoughts like that."  
  
"Well, I'm gonna ask him, as soon as he gets here." Nigel stood up and leaned over her, "Meanwhile," Nigel suddenly plunged a hypodermic needle into the girl's arm. Surprised, she cried out in pain. "That might take a minute to start working. You might want to lie down before if does," he offered before turning around. Celeste barely saw him grab the gun off the table before everything went black.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: I don't know if the part about the gun is accurate, and I tried to duplicate that stutter Nigel has when he's nervous. Sorry if it's irritating! Please, review and let me know what you think! 


	5. Ch 5

A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews! My computer hasn't let me online, stupid server! Anyway, I'm back now! Please review. Oh, and don't worry, I won't kill my Nicky! Oh, and I didn't want to change the rating, but there is one naughty word.  
  
* * * (At CSI HQ)  
  
"Hey, Cath, do you think you can cover for me?" Nick asked. He looked at the clock again. So far, he hadn't mentioned Celeste. This was his battle, and he didn't want Grissom or Catherine interfering.  
  
"Why?" She asked, irritated. Nick hadn't sit still all shift, and it was driving her nuts. He kept looking at the clock, and being very furtive.  
  
"Please, I just need you to."  
  
"That's vague," she said, "I guess. Are you in trouble?"  
  
"No. I'm not in trouble," he smiled at how protective Catherine could be with him and Warrick. Then again, Grissom was the same way with her and Sara.  
  
"Are you sure?" Catherine asked.  
  
"No, I'm fine." Nick stood up, prepared to leave the breakroom, "Thanks."  
  
"No problem, you owe me," Catherine threatened playfully.  
  
"Next time you need a sitter for Lindsey, I'm there." Nick promised, 'If I make it back, that is,' he added silently to himself.  
  
"You can tell me, if there's anything wrong."  
  
"Thanks," Nick said, halfway out the door.  
  
"Is this about Nigel?" She asked. Nick continued walking as though he didn't hear.  
  
* * * (Where Nigel is keeping Celeste)  
  
Celeste groaned as the bright sunlight assaulted her eyes. She opened them slowly before closing them and groaning again. She tried to sit up, "Damn," she muttered, realizing it hurt to move.  
  
Celeste took a deep breath and opened her eyes, letting them get used to the bright light. She tried to remember what had happened during the past few hours, but couldn't. She looked around and realized she was in a different room, and that she was now lying on a bed, rather than the floor. The bed wasn't comfy, but it was better than the cold, cement floor. She also realized she was secured to the bed, with a coarse rope. She sighed, and wondered if this was some elaborate practical joke Nick had come up with, to get revenge for all the childish things she had ever done to him. 'If it is,' she thought, 'it's not funny.'  
  
Celeste sighed and tried to remember what had happened last night. Obviously, he had transported her into this room, but what happened after that? Celeste heard a noise outside the door and paused to listen closely. She could hear voices, but couldn't tell who or what they were saying. She shook her head and tried to free herself from the restraints.  
  
Soon, the visitor left, she heard the door slam. Trying to escape the ropes was impossible, she decided she stopped trying to free herself. Her wrists burned where the ropes had burned her wrists. She wondered when her brother would find her, if he came. 'He'll come,' she told herself repeatedly. But as the hours passed, she wasn't so sure.  
  
TBC.  
  
A/N: No, the visitor, obviously wasn't her brother. . . Nigel's accomplice maybe. . . I don't know. Please review! 


	6. Ch 6

A/N: Wow! I've had major writer's block, (At least with this story!) But I have like 5 ideas for new stories, but I refuse to post those until these 3 that I have still in progress are finished! Anyway, sorry about the delay, but good things are worth waiting for. (Not that this is good, but.) As always, R&R!  
  
Spoilers: This whole story is a spoiler to 'Stalker' but this chapter has actual flashbacks from that episode. If the quotes aren't exactly right, I'm sorry, It's been a couple of days since I've seen that ep. On the plus side, I finally got to see the Green T!!! *~*~*~*~*  
  
Nick shut off his car and sighed. He looked up at the old house where Nigel was keeping his sister. Nick thought about his last encounter with Nigel.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"Stand up. Stand up, Nick." Nick stood across from Nigel, who held his gun. "Do you know what a nine-millimeter does to a skull at close range?" Nigel asked. Nick took a deep breath and nodded.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Blows it apart, right?" Nigel said, the gun still trained on Nick. "Little pieces of bone, and skull and brains. All swirled together like strawberries and whipped cream." Nick barely listened as Nigel talked. All he was thinking about was wanting to see his friends and family again.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"What do I want? I want you to be able to remember me!" Nigel yelled. Suddenly he shifted the gun, aiming at his own head. Nick lunged, desperate to keep Nigel from killing himself. Seconds later, the police intercepted and arrested Nigel.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"Yeah, Yeah, I'm fine," Nick assured his coworkers.  
  
* End Flashback*  
  
But he wasn't fine. Everyday, he thought about Nigel and what had happened. That was the second time that someone had held a gun to his head. And his team had saved him both times. He wondered if next time, he'd be that lucky.  
  
* * AT CSI HQ* *  
  
"Where are you going?" Grissom asked Catherine.  
  
"I just have something to do," Catherine said. "Please. I promise to be in an hour early tomorrow."  
  
"Fine. If all your paper work's done," Grissom agreed.  
  
"Yep. See you tomorrow," Catherine said as she hurried out of Grissom's office. Once in her car, Catherine took out the piece of paper she found in Nick's locker. At first, she had felt a pang of guilt for searching through the younger CSI's locker. But after all, she was a professional snooper. If he didn't like it, tough. Catherine sighed as she drove to the address scrawled onto the paper. After this, she'd have to give Nick a lesson in penmanship.  
  
* * * *  
  
Catherine pulled into the driveway and saw the familiar Denali sitting there. She briefly touched her gun, making sure she could reach it in a hurry. She hopped out of the car and hurried to a window. She looked in the window and didn't see anything. Groaning, she ran across to the other side of the house, hoping for another window. Catherine cursed as she saw Nick. He had his back to her and he was sitting in a chair. Upon closer inspection, Catherine realized he was tied to the chair. Since she didn't see Nigel, she knew Nick wasn't in any immediate danger. She briefly thought about a plan of action. Knowing it wouldn't be wise to barge in, she searched for another entrance to the house. She grinned as she found a door leading to the basement.  
  
* * * Inside * * *  
  
"You know, Nicky, You're just too nosy for your own good," Nigel smiled, "Although, that's what I was counting on."  
  
"Let her go," Nick said, "I'm who you want."  
  
"Yes, that's true. But that leads to an interesting point." Nigel paused dramatically.  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"See, I- Well, I could kill you. That would be the easy way to settle this, right?" Nigel held Nick's gun and looked at it in a different angle, "This is a nice gun. I was admiring it last time we met, remember?" Nigel asked.  
  
"I try not to."  
  
"But we both know that doesn't happen."  
  
"Get to your point," Nick snapped. "Then let her go."  
  
"Stop worrying. She's fine. For now."  
  
"If you touch her, I'll-"  
  
"Threats won't get you anywhere, Nicky," Nigel shook his head, "Although, now that I think about it, death would be a little too good for you, right? I mean, I-I could kill you, but that wouldn't be any fun. Especially no- not with this gun. Too quick. But I could. . ." Nigel stopped and abruptly left the room. Nick took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He didn't want Nigel to know how upset he was, although he figured Nigel already knew. Nick sat back and waited.  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Okay, I was going to try to get this finished, but I have to be at my volunteer gig in half an hour, so I think I'll cut it off here for now. I should have the rest up by the end of the week! As always, please read and review. 


	7. Ch 7

A/N: Sorry about my long hiatus. I've been SO busy! But dance team is over on Saturday, officially, so... Yay! Sort of. I will still have work, but... I should have more time to update. Anyway, this is almost the last chapter. Again, I tried to duplicate some of Nigel's mannerisms, (like the stuttering) but I don't know how that worked. Enjoy anyway!  
  
~~~***~~~  
  
Nick struggled against the ropes that bound his wrists. Seconds later, Nigel walked in, followed by Celeste, bound with the same type of rope Nigel had used on Nick. Though Nigel looked calm, almost serene, Celeste looked frightened and anxious. Nick took a deep breath, if Nigel had hurt Celeste in any way, there would be hell to pay. He'd make sure of that, even if it was the last thing he ever did.  
  
"Let her go!" Nick said finally. He still tried to untie the ropes behind him, but as discreetly as possible. "You have what you want. Me."  
  
"W-Wrong again! You're a-always w-w-wrong! I don't just want you, Nicky, I want you to suffer," Nigel smiled sadistically.  
  
"Come on, Nigel, let's settle this like adults. Let her go and we can work it out," Nick pleaded.  
  
Nigel smiled mischievously. "See, I've b-been watching you and I-I know. See, I realized I don't have to kill you, in fact, that would take the fun out of all this." Nigel pushed Celeste to the ground.  
  
"Who's having fun?" she snapped trying to sit up. Not an easy task without the use of her arms. Nick seethed as he watched Nigel's sadistic smile return.  
  
Meanwhile, Catherine watched as Nigel pulled a gun from his pocket. A Smith and Wesson, she noted. Nigel looked at the gun closely before walking over to Nick and pointed the barrel at his temple. "See, killing you would be easy. Too easy. And it would be quick. Not slow and painful like you deserve." Nick took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He had a bad idea where this was headed.  
  
Catherine also tried to calm herself. Damn her body's fight or flight response; the added adrenaline just made her more anxious. She positioned herself, her gun ready, just in case. She hoped it wouldn't come to that, she'd been up against the review board more times than necessary, however she was willing to do anything to protect the younger CSI.  
  
Nigel walked over to Celeste and knelt down. He gently caressed her cheek. She turned violently away from him. While she wasn't looking, Nigel shoved the gun to the back of her head. "What do you think, Nicky? See, I figured out a while ago, the way to hurt you, is to hurt the people closest to you. See, then you get to think about them every day. And how you were helpless to save them. That's a better torture than anything else I can think of. Am I right?" he asked.  
  
Nick, though angry, was determined not to show it. Seconds later, Nigel clicked the safety. Celeste let out a loud sob. Catherine got closer for a better aim.  
  
"Or, even better," Nigel stood up and got closer to Nick, "How about if you were the one to pull the trigger?" Nick's eyes widened, if Nigel untied the ropes... "That wouldn't be a good idea," Nigel said, as if he could read Nick's mind. "I guess I'll just have to it."  
  
Catherine took a deep breath and fired her gun at the same time Nigel did. She and Nick watched as both bullets hit the intended targets just moments apart. Nick heard sirens in the distance. Catherine walked over to Nigel, kicked his gun away and checked for a pulse. She turned to Nick and shook her head before making her way over to the girl. She sighed with relief at the fact that Nigel had horrible aim.  
  
"She's okay," Catherine said turning to Nick.  
  
"Thank God," he sighed with relief as he watched Catherine tend to his sister.  
  
"You'll be okay," Catherine promised, as she carefully tried to comfort Celeste. Brass, along with two other uniformed officers broke down the front door. He untied Nick and they watched as Celeste was loaded into an ambulance, while Nigel was loaded into the morgue's van.  
  
Catherine embraced the male CSI, "It's okay, Nick. Everything's going to be okay."  
  
~~~***~~~  
  
A/N: Only one chapter to go! I'll update soon, I promise! 


	8. Ch 8

A/N: Yay! This is the last chapter and then I'm done! Yippie! I already have another story in the works! And the last chapter of "Blue Eyed Angel" is almost done! Please R&R!  
  
*~*~*  
  
Nick sighed as he walked into the lab 2 days after Catherine had rescued him and Celeste.  
  
"Hey, How are you doing?" Catherine asked, looking up from her paperwork.  
  
"Good, thanks," He sighed again and poured himself a cup of coffee.  
  
"How's Celeste?"  
  
"She's fine too. Mom's flying in today, so... She's going to stay with me until Celeste gets out of the hospital, then she's going to take her home."  
  
"Good."  
  
"How are you doing?" Nick asked sitting across from her.  
  
"Bored. I'm going to be doing paperwork forever!" Catherine said through a playful grin. "Thanks a lot!"  
  
"It's not my fault you decided to kill Nigel. You could have just maimed him." Catherine laughed and shook her head.  
  
"Yeah, and that would have done you guys a lot of good."  
  
"Maybe," Nick sighed, "But it was a rightful shooting. They have to give you your gun back."  
  
"Yes, but not any time soon apparently. Oh well, it gives me an excuse. I've got two weeks worth of paperwork!" Catherine smiled, "Is your break almost over?"  
  
"Yeah." He stood up. "Hey, Cath?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Thank you," he smiled and gave Catherine a hug. "For everything." Catherine smiled back and watched as Nick left the breakroom. 


End file.
